Short course
Introduction to Reading Poetry
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Location:
Online
Dates:
16/09/2026 - 25/11/2026
Study format:
Online - live
Fees:
£430.00
Are you curious about poetry, but have always been a little scared of taking your curiosity further? If so, plunge into this beginners’ course, which introduces poetry analysis through a close reading of ten classic poems.
This course is for poetry lovers, readers, writers, and beginners who want to move beyond "I like it" to "I understand how this works". Each week, we will focus on one well-known and well-loved poem by a canonical author; learning about its themes and subject-matter, dissecting its techniques and structure (rhythm, rhyme, diction, imagery, genre), and analysing its meaning.
William Hazlitt called poetry "the highest eloquence of passion, the most vivid form of expression that can be given to our conception of any thing" ('On Poetry in General', 1818). By focusing on one poem each week, students will learn to appreciate and engage with this vivid expression, cultivating a nuanced approach to interpreting poetry and better understanding some canonical texts of English literature from Shakespeare to Christina Rossetti.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Programme details
This course begins on the 16 Sept 2026, which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting, which will be held on 23 Sept 2026, 17:30- 18:30 (UK time).
Week 1: Introduction to analysing poetry. William Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 18’ (Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?)
Week 2: John Donne’s ‘The Flea’
Week 3: John Milton’s Paradise Lost
Week 4: Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea, ‘A Nocturnal Reverie’
Week 5: Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock
Week 6: Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’
Week 7: John Keats’s ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’
Week 8: Emily Brontë’s ‘No coward soul is mine’
Week 9: Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market
Week 10: Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’
Level and demands
This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.
This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.
Course aims
This course aims to:
- Provide students with the knowledge and tools to analyse and understand the ten poems on the course
- Introduce and develop students’ skills of close reading and literary analysis of poems
- Enhance students’ critical thinking around approaches to reading poetry
IT requirements
Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome. We also recommend that students join the live webinars on Microsoft Teams using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone or tablet due to the limited functionality of the app on these devices.
Programme details
This course begins on the 16 Sept 2026, which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting, which will be held on 23 Sept 2026, 17:30- 18:30 (UK time).
Week 1: Introduction to analysing poetry. William Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 18’ (Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?)
Week 2: John Donne’s ‘The Flea’
Week 3: John Milton’s Paradise Lost
Week 4: Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea, ‘A Nocturnal Reverie’
Week 5: Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock
Week 6: Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’
Week 7: John Keats’s ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’
Week 8: Emily Brontë’s ‘No coward soul is mine’
Week 9: Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market
Week 10: Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’
Teaching methods
This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams. Shortly before a course commences, students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.
All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
- understand the underlying concepts needed to analyse poetry, and be able to apply them critically to poems.
- demonstrate analytical and interpretative skills of critical analysis and close reading.
- communicate analytical and interpretative skills effectively, both in oral and written form.
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Dr Octavia Cox – Tutor
Dr Octavia Cox completed her doctorate at the University of Oxford, has taught and lectured at the University of Oxford, the University of Nottingham, and elsewhere, and has published various peer-reviewed chapters and articles. Her first monograph, Alexander Pope and Romantic Poetics, is forthcoming. She is currently researching a book provisionally titled Jane Austen and Genre.
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Level and demands
This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.
This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £430.00 |
Module code: O26P858LTZ
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.